The 74th Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday saw trophies awarded to the late Chadwick Boseman as well as former President Barack Obama, both first-time winners of the prestigious honor.
Boseman, who died of colon cancer at age 43 in 2020, was posthumously named the winner of Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for his role as Star-Lord T’Challa in an episode of Marvel’s “What If…?” series, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Obama’s win for Outstanding Narration celebrated his performance in the five-part Netflix docuseries “Our Great National Parks,” in which he voiced over the episode “A World of Wonder,” showcasing the beaches of Africa, islands of Japan and more.
The notoriously star-studded event, held at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater, precedes the principal Emmy ceremony scheduled for Monday, Sept. 12, to be hosted by “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson, per Vanity Fair.
Accepting Boseman’s award was his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, who said she was “in such awe” of the late actor’s commitment and dedication to recording the narration as he was undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
“What a beautifully aligned moment it really is,” Ledward said, “that one of the last things he would work on would not only be revisting a character that was so important to him and his career and to the world, but also that it be an exploration of something new, diving into a new potential future.”
The “Black Panther” star earned the honor over fellow nominees Maya Rudolph, who was nominated for “Big Mouth,” F. Murray Abraham for Moon Knight,” Jeffrey Wright for “What If…?,” Julie Andrews for “Bridgerton,” Stanley Tucci for “Central Park” and Jessica Walter for “Archer.”
Obama’s award was accepted by drag queen icon RuPaul, who presented the category. The 44th president bested fellow nominees Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was nominated for “Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War,” Lupita Nyong’o for “Serengeti II,” W. Kamau Bell for “We Need to Talk About Cosby,’ and David Attenborough for “The Mating Game.”
Check out the full list of winners from Saturday’s ceremony here.
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